Fire destroys Anamosa restaurant

Fire destroyed an eastern Iowa restaurant this morning. Firefighters were called to McOtto’s restaurant in Anamosa just before 5 a.m. Flames were shooting through the roof of the restaurant, which opened in 1984. Firefighters tried to enter the restaurant’s kitchen, but the fire was too intense and they had to remain outside.

No one was injured. McOtto’s owner John Danneman also owns Happy Joe’s franchises in Monticello, Cascade and Coralville. Danneman told KCRG-TV he lost an Iowa City restaurant in a tornado and a replacement restaurant in Coralville was destroyed in the 2008 floods. The State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the McOtto’s fire. Workers left the restaurant at 10 o’clock Sunday night.